Checkers and Chess...

For some, it may seem like checkers and chess have little in common but a board of 8X8 squares. It's true that one is a game of battles, the other a game of captures. But for me, both games are intricately intertwined in my childhood by that simple, marvellous board.

I recall hours spent playing chess with my father, then flipping the chess pieces in a box and pulling out the checkers when friends came over, and spending more hours playing fast tournaments of draughts with them.

Both games have been entertaining adults and children in parlours and nurseries for centuries and, even in the age of computers and electronic gadgets, the games of checkers and chess have not lost their appeal.

It is hoped that this site might bring back some of those memories for others as well, and perhaps encourage those who have focused on one game to flip the well worn pieces into a box and pull out the other now and then.

	Web CheckersAndChess.com

Polish Draughts

This variety is played with a table divided into one hundred squares, fifty of each colour, and with forty counters (called indifferently either pieces, pawns, or men,) one-half black and the other white, each player having twenty of one colour. Read about this and other checkers variants here.

Chess Rules and Regulations

An overview of the rules of chess, written by Maxim La Roux in his "Complete Guide to the games of Checkers and Chess." 5 Pages.

Chess 101- The Relative Value of the Pieces

A brief look at the value of the pieces in a chess game, with a cursory explanation of checks, check mates, and stale mates.

Introduction to Checkers (or Draughts) Part 3

The laws of the game explained, from from the first move to the win or the draw. See the series thus far on the Checkers page.

Who Invented Chess?

H.E. Bird's discussion of the various parties who have, at one time or other, claimed the honour of inventing the game of chess.

Introduction to Checkers (or Draughts) Part 2

The introduction continues with a description of moves, odds, and common situations. See the series thus far on the Checkers page.

Sacrificing

A player is said to sacrifice in chess if he allows a certain amount of his forces to be captured without recapturing han equivalent amount of his opponent's forces for some strategic reason.

The Five Fundamental Checkers Positions

The mastery of the the five positions described and illustrated here is essential for anyone who desires to become a fair player.

The German Chess Theorists

A quick examination of A van der Linde in particular, with passing nods to Weber, Berlin, Der Lasa and others. A chapter from "Chess History and Reminiscences" by H.E. Bird

Introduction to Checkers (or Draughts) Part 1

A quick introduction to the game of checkers, adapted from Ottenheimer's Checkers and Chess. A Complete Guide